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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SIXTY-FIRST CONGRESS 


ADDITIONAL JUDGE 



EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 


HEARING 

BEFORE 

ijs'V'Sv . < 

COMMITTEE OX THE JUDICIARY 

ON 

H. R. 20148 


APRIL 26, 1910 



D ) 

* * * 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 















ADDITIONAL JUDGE, EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 


Committee on the Judiciary, 

Subcommittee No. 2, 
Tuesday , April 26, 1910. 

The subcommittee met at 10.45 o'clock a. m., Hon. John A. Sterling 
(chairman) presiding. 

Present, the Chairman, Mr. Goebel, Mr. Henry, and Mr. Webb. 

STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM M. CALDER, A REPRESENTATIVE 
FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Mr. Calder. Mr. Chairman, this is a bill to create an additional 
judge in the eastern district of New York. The eastern district 
includes all of Long Island and Staten Island, and has a population 
of over 2,000,000 people. We now have one district judge. You 
have filed with you reports of the business transacted in that court 
and a recommendation from Judge Lacomb, the circuit judge—a 
Democratic judge, by the way—and also recommendations from the 
district attorney and the clerk of the court, as well as letters, showing 
the necessity for this additional judge. I have here the indorsement 
of the proposition by the bar association of the district, which con¬ 
tains all the leading lawyers of the district, commending the bill very 
highly. I would also like to file with the hearing editorials from our 
two leading newspapers, one a Democratic newspaper and the other 
a Republican newspaper. 

The Chairman. Just hand them to the reporter and he will put 
them in the hearings. 

Mr. Calder. Those editorials show the necessity for the court. Mr. 
Kiendl, of Brooklyn, who practices largely in the court, has come here 
to-day to testify as to the necessity of the additional judge. I am 
sure after we are through the committee will believe that the bill 
ought to pass. 

STATEMENT OF ADOLPH KIENDL, ESQ., OF 2590 ATLANTIC 

AVENUE, BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY, N. Y. 

Mr. Kiendl. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, as 
a practicing attorney in the eastern district for many years, at least 
thirty years, I have had occasion to practice a great deal in the 
United States district court, in bankruptcy matters, in the circuit, 
court, and in the trial of cases at common law, and in criminal cases. 
I am a member of the bar association of Brooklyn, and that associa¬ 
tion indorses the bill now before your committee and asks that it be 
passed; I know the association is enthusiastic over this measure. 

There ought to be an additional judge for this district, and in 
order to properly understand the matter I will present certain facts. 



4 


ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YOBK. 


You gentlemen, of course, being lawyers, as I understand, know that 
Brooklyn is now so closely connected with New T ork that a man 
having an office in Brooklyn, and having a case in Brooklyn in this 
eastern district, or with an office in Brooklyn and having a motion 
to make in the southern district, can reach the court-house in Brook¬ 
lyn or the court-house in New York in exactly the same time; in 
other words, he can take the subway and arrive in New York in seven 
minutes, or it will take him about seven minutes to walk from his 
Brooklyn office to the court-house in Brooklyn; so that the court¬ 
houses of both these districts, the southern and the eastern, are very 
closely connected. 

The Chairman. Will you describe, Mr. Kiendl, just what territory 
the district covers—what cities ? 

Mr. Kiendl. Yes, sir; I will do so. The territory covered by the 
eastern district, in the first place, has a population now of 2,000,000 
people. We have a water front of miles upon miles, circling the whole 
of Long Island, from the New York City end of it clear around to 
Montauk Point, Riverhead, Greenport, and then back again around the 
Sound side. So that from an admiralty point of view we have an 
extensive water front, ocean and sound, over which the eastern dis¬ 
trict has concurrent jurisdiction with the southern district of New 
York. The eastern district has exclusive jurisdiction over Long 
Island and Richmond County (ocean and bays), except New York 
Bay, over which the eastern and southern districts have concurrent 
jurisdiction. Now, when the court was established, twenty-five or 
thirty years ago- 

The Chairman. That is, they have concurrent jurisdiction in 
admiralty suits ? 

Mr. Kiendl. Yes, sir; they have concurrent jurisdiction on the 
New York Bay, and that takes in all the harbor of New York City; 
so the eastern district has jurisdiction of all thoses cases. They can 
be brought in that district, providing there is proper accommodation 
to try the cases there. Now, then, the population away back at the 
time this court was created was about 400,000 people; in other words, 
we have increased in population to 1,500,000 since that time. 

The Chairman. Since when ? i 

Mr. Kiendl. Since 1866. But, of course, nothing has been done 
in the line of increasing the court judges in that district (eastern) at 
all; we have no circuit judge in that district at all. Judge Lacomb, 
I believe, is the nearest one to us, and he resides, I think, near Hud¬ 
son, N. Y., 125 miles away, and we therefore have no assistance at 
all in the eastern district in the line of a circuit judge. 

The Chairman. You have circuit judges in the southern district ? 

Mr. Kiendl. But the most they do, Mr. Chairman, is to sign an 
order occasionally, when a judge can not be found in Brooklyn. 
Now, as a matter of fact, during the last year we have had a judge 
from the southern district for only three or four days in the entire 
year; a judge from the southern district to come over to Brooklyn 
to hold district court for motions, and for motions only, and he 
would stay there only long enough to dispose of that business, which 
would sometimes take a very short time. But I believe this did not 
happen more than foul* times during the entire year, and that hap¬ 
pened to be during the time that Judge Chatfield was away on his 
vacation. That was the only time we had anyone from the southern 


ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 


5 


district in the eastern district to hold court at all, and was only for 
the purpose of hearing motions. I want to say, in modification of 
the foregoing, that orders were signed in New York during the time 
that Judge Chatfield was away. For instance, a restraining order, 
an order to show cause, an order appointing a receiver, or something 
of that kind, would be signed by a judge in the southern district, but 
we from the eastern district had to go there to have it done. 

But I would not say anything about the inconvenience, because 
there is really very little inconvenience in crossing the river, because, 
as stated before, it is a short distance; nevertheless, the matter had 
to be carried from Brooklyn to New York. Then, in order to get an 
order, where an examination of the papers was involved, the judge 
was compelled to spend considerable time. That was only during 
the time that Judge Chatfield was away on his vacation. But I want 
to say that we have had no judge from the other courts come to 
Brooklyn at all except on the three or four days mentioned. 

Mr. Henry. How many district judges have you in the State of 
New York ? 

Mr. Kiendl. I think there are now about eight. 

Mr. Henry. I mean federal district court judges? 

Mr. Kiendl. Perhaps Congressman Law could tell you. 

Mr. Law. I can not tell offhand. 

The Chairman. Four in the southern district. 

Mr. Kiendl. One in the eastern and one in the northern. 

Mr. Henry. Do your circuit judges do any appeal business ? 

Mr. Kiendl. I should say this, Mr. Henry, that I think the day 
has now come when it will be absolutely necessary for the circuit 
court judges to do no other work except to hear appeals. I know the 
calendar is always pretty well crowded, and it taxes the entire time 
of the court to listen to the appeals, without regard to the time that 
they must have for making their decisions. They have a very good 
rule, and one upon which they insist, that before the next term is 
called they have every case on their calendar disposed of. This is 
an admirable rule, I think, because it cleans up the court’s work for 
each current term. But I believe the day has been reached when 
the circuit court judges can do no other business except to take care 
of their circuit courts. 

Mr. Henry. Is there not some way by which a district judge from 
another part of the State could be sent to hold a few terms of court ? 

Mr. Kiendl. That would not relieve matters entirely; I think I 
can show you this very clearly, even if that were done. 

Mr. Webb. Let me suggest that that ought to be done, because 
the northern district judge does no work at all. He terminated eight 
cases last year in which the United States was a party and only 28 
criminal prosecutions and no admiralty cases whatever, while your 
district judge terminated 69 cases in which the United States was a 
party, 130 criminal cases, and 350 admiralty cases. That northern 
district judge should be assigned to work in your district. 

Mr. Kiendl. The northern district judge and another judge are 
assigned to the southern district to do the work that is being done 
there now, but, notwithstanding, they can not dispose of their business. 

The southern district is not meeting its work and the eastern dis¬ 
trict is very much behind. I do not see that there is any other way 
than to have an additional judge, and if you will just be a little patient 


6 ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 

with me I will show you the conditions that prevail. Now, all of this 
business, caused by the increase in population, has to be taken care of. 
Judge Chatfield alone is taking care of the criminal calendar, the 
common-law calendar, the equity calendar, the admiralty calendar, 
the bankruptcy calendar, naturalizations, motions, and ex parte 
work. Now, the criminal cases alone are many. In such a case, if a 
judge came to the eastern district from another district it would be 
impossible to tell how long he would have to hold court. Sometimes 
it takes two weeks, sometimes three, and sometimes an entire term, to 
close up the criminal calendar. 

And as to the common-law side of the court, which is all jury work, 
the calendar stands somewhat like this: During 1907—as far back as 
that—there were 55 cases tried. 

The Chairman. What year is that ? 

Mr. Kiendl. 1907. Fifty-five of those cases were actually tried; 
99 cases on that calendar were dismissed by reason of failure of proof 
or by reason of failure to make out a proper case. These were par¬ 
tially tried and disposed of in that way. There were 307 orders 
signed; there were 46 motions argued, and 130 arraignments and sen¬ 
tences during that time. Besides, there was the petit-jury work and 
the grand-jury work. All of this made 315 days of actual work for 
the judge. Now, then, if you add to that the 52 Sundays in the year, 
without regard to any question of vacation time, you have 367 days’ 
work that will be required of a judge to do the circuit-court work 
alone, without regard to the other work that I will point out in a 
minute. It will take all of that time to do the work just outlined 
under the present conditions of that calendar. 

Now, we have a large number of accident cases, and you gentlemen 
know that accident suits can not very well be tried in less than a day 
or two days’ time. It generally takes, I think, two and three days; 
but I am told by the clerk that the average is one day and a half. 
Now, the criminal cases are increasingall the time. You must bear 
in mind that we have a navy-yard in Brooklyn, and we have a great 
many larceny cases. I remember at the last term of the court there 
were about 10 or 15 men tried for petit larceny. We also have cases 
from Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth, and many other cases in 
which the United States is interested, such as violations, for instance, 
of the customs laws, etc. I know of a large number of cases of that 
kind which we have had recently, and also violations of other kinds, 
including cases of forfeiture by reason of illegal dealing in the liquor 
traffic. And all of these cases are before this branch of the court. I 
am now talking only about the circuit court. 

We have, in addition to that, the equity side. The equity side of 
the couit to-day takes up a great deal of time. I can remember one 
case that was being tried while I was waiting for some case to be 
reached m that branch of the court, and they were over three weeks 
with that case, and then it took another three or four weeks to work 
up the briefs that were submitted on the case. 

Now, those are little instances of cases that come before that court. 
I know these facts, because I appear before that court almost everv 
day with some sort of a motion or paper. And I know that one judge 
can be occupied actually and constantly in doing the work of the 
circuit court alone. 


ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 


7 


Now we come to the bankruptcy side of the court, and on that 
perhaps it will be interesting to spend a few minutes. There were 
3,755 cases in bankruptcy in the eastern district. 

Mr. Webb. What year was that? 

Mr. Kiendl. That"runs up to 1909. 

The Chairman. July 1, 1909. 

Mr. Webb. Are those figures from the records of your court? 

Mr. Kiendl. I received these from the clerk of the court. 

Mr. Webb. You mean during one year you have 3,000 bankruptcy 
cases ? 

Mr. Kiendl. I want to be very accurate about this and absolutely 
right. There were, altogether, in that court 3,755 cases; there are 
pending in that court to-day 875 cases. That is the condition of the 
bankruptcy calendar to-day. 

The Chairman. You are speaking of the district court alone, or the 
circuit court and the district court ? 

Mr. Kiendl. This has reference to the bankruptcy cases, and only 
the district court. 

The Chairman. You are only speaking of bankruptcy cases? 

Mr. Kiendl. Yes, sir; entirely. So you can see we have 875 cases 
now pending. Those cases, of course, bring up a great many ques¬ 
tions in the nature of motions, etc. Motions are made to discharge, 
and you gentlemen well know it takes sometimes a half day to argue 
on a question of the report of a referee as to whether a bankrupt 
should be discharged or not, whether he has carried on business in a 
fraudulent way, whether he has kept fraudulent books, and whether 
or not he has disposed of some of his property in a fraudulent manner. 
I know of my own knowledge that I have taken, myself, an hour or 
so to argue my side of a case. Therefore the judge must hear all of 
these different motions. Motions for the appointment of receivers 
and motions for injunctions of one kind and another are heard in that 
branch of the court. So the work of that branch of the court to-day 
is very, very large, and naturally would be, with a population of 
2,000,000 people. Of course a great many people who do business in 
New York live in Brooklvn and, of course, the courts have coordinate 
jurisdiction. A petition may be filed in the district where a man does 
his business or where he resides. 

Now, then, in addition to that, in the district court we have viola¬ 
tions of one kind and another; revenue cases, and cases of that character. 
There are now in that branch of the court 24 of these cases pending 
and 6 new cases that have been added to the calendar, all of them 
government cases. 

Now, then, we have another branch of it which is very important, 
and I think it is worth your consideration, and that is the naturaliza¬ 
tion court. The naturalization law has been administered by the 
United States branch of the court in a manner that is certainly com¬ 
mendable, and it is very carefully administered. Judge Chatfield is 
certainly to be commended for the manner in which he conducts these 
proceedings, for they are conducted very carefully 

The Chairman. How long has Judge Chatfield been on the bench? 

Mr. Kiendl. A little over three years. 

' The Chairman. Who was his predecessor ? 

Mr. Kiendl. Judge Thomas; he is now a supreme court judge. 


8 


ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 


The Chairman. Is Judge Chatfield disposing of business as rapidly 
as Judge Thomas did ? 

Mr. Kiendl. On some things I should say yes and on others per¬ 
haps not. Judge Chatfield is an able and experienced lawyer and 
is rather a young man. I will say, in my opinion, on some things 
Judge Chatfield is a little more expeditious in disposing of them and 
in others more deliberate. On a fine question of law, I will admit, 
Judge Chatfield is perhaps somewhat slower than Judge Thomas was, 
but I do believe that he is a very able judge and disposes of his cases 
in a very able and careful manner, and is a most conscientious judge. 

The Chairman. Has the docket gotten behind more rapidly since 
he was judge than before, and if so, what is the cause therefor— is it 
due to the increase of business? 

Mr. Kiendl. Due to the increase of business; the business is 
increasing in that court every day. I think Judge Thomas would 
admit this to be a fact and you will find it to be so if you will refer to 
the returns of the clerk of the court. The clerk has demonstrated 
by the records that the court is behind in the neighborhood of 80 cases 
on the criminal side of the court, which are to be actual trials, where 
juries must be impaneled, and there are also a great many cases on 
the common-law side of the court. There are also a large number of 
equity cases; I have two equity cases myself that I am very anxious 
to reach, but I have not been able to reach them by reason of the 
condition of the calendar. And this is so in regard to other matters 
in the court. Certainly, the business is increasing to such an extent 
that the judge can not do the work, although he is trying hard to do 
it. I want to say this for him, although he would probably not be 
pleased if I said it, but I know as a matter of fact that he goes to the 
court-house at 9 o’clock in the morning, and he stays there every day 
until 6 o’clock at night, and his stenographer told me that he comes 
back there at 8 o’clock and stays until 11 or 12 o’clock at night. 

Now, I do not think that is right. I do not think a judge ought 
to be made to labor thus in order to keep up work which is 
increasing so largely by reason of the increased population which, 
as I said, was 440,000 thirty-one years ago, the population now 
being about 2,000,000. There has consequently been such an increase 
m the business of the court that I think it is time that something were 
done to relieve conditions. 

Now, I was going to speak about the naturalization work. There 
are pending to-day in this court 639 cases. These cases could not 
be disposed of by reason of the fact that the judge could not give 
them time. He is trying to divide up his time so that he can try 
his cases at common law and criminal law during parts of the jury 
term, and do this other work in between. He assigns one day a 
week lor that purpose. He tries to hear motions in the fore part of 
the day, and during the other portion of the day he works on these 
matters until they are finished, as far as it is possible to finish them 
Now, to indicate the increase in business, I will say that the clerk’s 
ees M m ™ naturalization bureau m one year, this last year, amounted 
to as,500, lees coming from that source alone. 

i do es seem to me, with all these facts before you gentlemen, there 
ought to be no question about the necessity for an additional judge 
m the eastern district of New York. I do not think it is fair to 


ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 9 

Judge Chatfield, and I certainly do not think it is fair to the liti¬ 
gants in that district, if this bill is not made a law. 

Now, as to the bankruptcy end, I was asked about the increase in 
cases. There are 250 bankruptcy petitions, voluntary and involun¬ 
tary, filed every year. You gentlemen all know how much time is 
consumed in doing that work. 

Mr. Henry. If we should repeal the bankruptcy law, that would 
relieve your court of a great deal of business ? 

Mr. Kiendl. Of course it would relieve the bankruptcy part of it. 

Mr. Henry. You are getting so prosperous now that you ought not 
to need any bankruptcy court. 

Mr. Kiendl. It seems to be the custom of Congress every twenty 
or thirty years to do away with it; then you give it back to us again. 

Mr. Henry. They do it oftener than that; they usually do it after 
about five years. 

Mr. Kiendl. I am a little sorry they do it so often, because I think 
it is a mistake. Unfortunately for us, in our State they have an 
assignment law which comes in nicely for certain unprincipled fellows 
to give preferences, and it works very injuriously. With a part of our 
population, when it comes to a time to make a preference, the fathers- 
m-law, the mothers-in-law, and the sisters-in-law are all taken care 
of, but the other creditors are forgotten. I am awfully sorry to think 
that such a thing may be done. Ordinarily, with our good American 
people, we do not have such trouble, but there are some of those 
among us who are constantly looking for an advantage. 

Now, I want to call your attention to one more thing, in which 
Congressman Law was very much interested. I think it is going 
to be about the most important thing that will take place in New 
York State. Congress has passed what is known as the Jamaica 
Bay bill, which means the expenditure, I believe, of about $5,000,000. 

Mr. Law. An expenditure of seven and a half millions by the Gov¬ 
ernment and by the State of about ten millions within the next ten 
years. 

. Mr. Kiendl. If this bill becomes a working act it will greatly 
increase admiralty business in our district and matters that we will 
have, and this will come about very soon, I believe, as they are now 
about ready to prepare the plans for said work. This will make miles 
of wharves and docks. 

Mr. Law. An appropriation is carried in the river and harbor bill 
this year for the commencement of the work. 

Mr. Kiendl. That demonstrates that Brooklyn is going to be one 
of the largest docking centers in the world, for we have miles of water 
front which can be utilized. All of this, as said before, will increase 
the admiralty work of the court very, very largely over and above 
the considerable work we already have. 

Now, with all those things staring us in the face it does seem to me 
that there ought to be no hesitation in granting an extra judge for 
the eastern district, with the increase of business there to-day, with 
the calendars in every branch of it behind alike in the circuit court, 
actions criminal, in equity, and at common law, and in the district 
court, bankruptcy, and naturalization matters. 

Mr. Henry. You were allowed two additional judges for New York 
two or three years ago, were you not ? 

Mr. Kiendl. They were not in New York. 


10 ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 


Mr. Henry. I understand that. However, I think when Mr. 
Alexander reported the bill he stated, if I am not mistaken, that 
would relieve matters for some time and you would not need addi¬ 
tional judges. Were not two judges so granted ? 

Mr. Fitzgerald. In the southern district. 

Mr. Foelker. One in the southern district. 

Mr. Webb. How many have you now in the southern district ? 

Mr. Foelker. I believe four altogether. 

Mr. Henry. I know I voted for two judges within the last two 
or three years. 

Mr. Calder. I think we were granted one circuit and one district 
judge within the last four years. 

Mr. Henry. I am not taking any position on this bill, but would 
just like to know about that, and to know whether there is any 
prospect of taking some of those judges from another part of the 
State and sending them over there. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. At the present time the judge in the eastern dis¬ 
trict gives some of his time in the southern district. 

The Chairman. How long ago was that, Mr. Fitzgerald? Did 
Judge Thomas do that ? 


Mr. Kiendl. Judge Thomas did it at one time; yes, sir. 

The Chairman. About how long ago ? 

Mr. Calder. That ended about two years ago. The present judge 
went over there for a while, but about two years ago that stopped. 

The Chairman. How could he do that when his own calendar was 
so far behind ? 

Mr. Kiendl. He only helped out, to do something that had to be 
done; cases were assigned and set down and they had to be tried. 

Mr. Law. My recollection of that is it was done before there was 
an increase in the number of judges in the southern district, so that 
at the time, while the eastern district would have been in bad shape, 
the southern district was in even worse shape. Since the increase of 
judges in the southern district the judge in the eastern district has 
not gone over there to hold criminal terms. 

Mr. Kiendl. To-day the district judge from the northern district 
is brought down and tries cases in the southern district, but even so 
the southern district court can not keep up with the demands made 
upon it. 

Mr. Webb. What was that statement? 

Mr. Kiendl. Even at this time, with two additional judges, the 
judge from the northern district is assigned to the southern district 
to help out. 

Mr. Henry. What is the name of that judge ? 

Mr. Foelker. Mr. Ray. 

Chairman. Have you any customs fraud cases in your district ? 

Mr. Kiendl. There are some; yes, sir. 

The Chairman. The department claims they can not get judges 

111 i hP Qmif norn 4-s^ itt 4-1^ ___ o J o 


. , . . . -vuwmo V±±VJ iyUll 11U t uu^es 

m the southern district to try those cases now. 

Mr Webb. Does Judge Chatfield ever sit in the circuit court of 


?als ? 



Mr. Kiendl Occasionally he may; I do not know that he has. I 
really do not think he has. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. I do not believe he ever does. 


ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 11 

Mr. Kiendl. lie may, on occasion, where they want to try some 
cases and need him to help out, but I have never heard of it. 

The Chairman. This district includes Long Island and Staten 
Island ? 

Mr. Kiendl. Yes, sir; all of Long Island and Staten Island. 

The Chairman. Any other territory ? 

Mr. Kiendl. That is all it takes in. 

The Chairman. This district includes the entire city of Brooklyn? 

Mr. Kiendl. Yes. 

The Chairman. Any other cities ? 

Mr. Kiendl. It takes in Greenport and Riverhead, Long Island 
City, and Jamaica. 

The Chairman. Is there any country territory in the district at all ? 

Mr. Kiendl. Yes; some country territory. As a matter of fact, a 
very large territory. Long Island is about 130 miles in length. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. Long Island is 110 miles long. 

Mr. C alder. There are nine Members of Congress from that ter¬ 
ritory. 

The Chairman. There is a bill pending before this subcommittee 
providing that the Chief Justice may assign judges from other circuits. 
Now, the circuit judges in the circuit may assign judges from one dis¬ 
trict to another m the circuit, but this bill, introduced by Mr. Par¬ 
sons, provides that the Chief Justice may, upon request of the judge 
of any circuit court, assign judges from one circuit to another. Now, 
there are circuits in the country—like Vermont and New Hamp¬ 
shire—where the district judges have practically nothing to do; do 
not you think the situation could be relieved in the eastern district 
by passing that bill so the Chief Justice could assign judges from 
other circuits to your circuit? 

Mr. Kiendl. It would only be a temporary relief. We absolutely 
need another judge all of the time, Mr. Chairman; there is no doubt 
about it. I have figured it out carefully; I have gone over all the fig¬ 
ures, and all the cases, and am convinced that one additional judge 
would have every day fully employed in discharging the honest work 
of the court, vacation time excepted. 

Mr. Henry. Have you submitted this to the Attorney-General ? 

Mr. Calder. You have a recommendation here from him. 

The Chairman. I think we have a letter from the Attorney- 
General approving this bill. [After making a search.] I think we 
have no letter from the Attorney-General, Mr. Calder. 

Mr. Calder. I saw it in the papers the other day, in your docket. 

The Chairman. We have several letters here from judges, and 
have a letter from the Attorney-General, or, at least, from the Acting 
Attorney-General. This is what the Acting Attorney-General says, 
after enumerating the business, “ These figures do not show a present 
urgent necessity for the passage of said bill; however, it is doubtless 
true the business of said district is increasing from year to year and is 
likely to continue to do so. I therefore recommend that the relief 
be provided.” . That is the concluding paragraph in his letter. 

Mr. Kiendl. I am satisfied, Mr. Chairman, you would not get the 
relief that is really needed there unless a new judge is appointed for 
the district. The sending of another judge for a time would not 
accomplish it, because he should be there all the year through, to 
actually sit in the trial of cases and do his part of the ex parte work 


12 ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 


and to take care of the motions that may come before the branch 
of the court he may be holding. It is the only expeditious way of 
doing business. I do not believe that we of the eastern district 
could get any real relief in any other way, and the district therefore 
demands serious attention at your hands. We have 2,000,000 
population to-day, which is constantly increasing, and this Jamaica 
Bay proposition will certainly bring a very large amount of business. 
The government interests and everything else will be affected by it, 
and it certainly does seem to me that it would be a serious mistake 
not to grant this additional judge now, where it is obvious that an 
additional judge is so urgently needed. Everyone who is really 
acquainted with affairs in the eastern district feels that it should be 
done. It would be very unwise to have some one come irregularly 
from a neighboring court and attempt to do the work that ought to 
be done by a regular resident judge. And I think something is due 
to Judge Chatfield; that is, I think he ought to be relieved. I know 
how he feels. He wants to do the work and is laboring hard to get 
the work out, but he simply can not do all of it. 

Mr. Henry. How old a man is he ? 

Mr. Kiendl. About 40. 

Mr. Henry. There is a great deal of good work in him yet. 

Mr. Kiendl. That is so; and he is working hard. We know how 
hard he is working there every day. 

Mr. Henry. I wish you would put into the report here the number 
of judges, federal district judges, you have in the State of New York, 
then the number of cases pending in each district, the number dis¬ 
posed of, and the number of days each one of those judges held court 
during the last two years. I think you can get all of that out of the 
attorney-general’s report, or practically all of it. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. There are 7 district judges in New York, 4 in the 
southern district, 1 in the western district, 1 in the northern district, 
and 1 in the eastern district. Permit me to give you one illustration: 
In our supreme court in Manhattan, or New York County, which is 
the first department, there are 30 supreme court justices; in addition 
to that they have the city court, which has quite extensive jurisdic¬ 
tion and a number of judges. I can put the exact number in the 
record. 


Mr. Henry. I wish you would do that. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. Then they have the criminal court- 


Mr. Henry. Are those all trial courts that you are speaking of ? 
Mr. Fitzgerald. Well, trial courts and appellate courts. 

Mr. Henry. They are not appellate courts? 

Mr. Fitzgerald. Of those 30 justices, 7 of them are assigned 

• A i a ?P e ate wor ^’ the second department which is identical 
with the eastern district of New York, there are 17 supreme court 
justices, and of those 17 men only 3 are assigned to the appellate 
work, tou can judge from that the character of the work and the 
amount of the business. In the eastern district we have 1 district 
judge, while m New York country there are 4 district judges; and 
*t i s r en ^ ely ou ^ P ro P or tion to the amount of work 

Mr. Webb. Four in the southern district and 1 each in the 
other three« 

Mr. Fitzgerald. Yes One sits at Buffalo, which is in the western 
district, and that court has all the lake traffic business, growing out of 



ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 13 


those matters up there. Judge Ray sits in the southern district 
quite frequently; the other man is occupied in his own district, and 
Judge Ray has the northern district and has some time at his disposal. 

Mr. Henry. I would like you to make that comparison. 

Mr. Webb. This circuit has four circuit judges? 

Mr. Fitzgerald. I do not know about that. 

Mr. Webb. Yes; four circuit judges. 

Mr. Henry. They do nothing but appellate business now ? 

Mr. Webb. But they were not in session more than one hundred 
days during the last session. 

Mr. Kiendl. It takes them some time to write up the appeals. 

Mr. Henry. Do they use any of these district judges in the appel¬ 
late court? 

Mr. Fitzgerald. I do not know. 

Mr. Henry. They used to do it a great deal, but they have almost 
abandoned that plan. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. I do not know; I used to be more familiar with it 
than I am now. 

Mr. Kiendl. I know Judge Chatfield has done this to expedite 
business; he would have an attorney summing up in one branch of 
the court before a jury and he would leave the bench and go to the 
other branch of the court and charge a jury. I have seen him do that. 

Mr. Henry. Did he sit with the circuit court of appeals during 
any of the last year ? 

Mr. Kiendl. I am not positive about that. 

Mr. Henry. I wish you would find out, and if he did, just how 
many days he sat. 

Mr. Kiendl. I will be glad to ascertain those facts for you. 

Mr. Law. It might be interesting to say that there are 17 supreme 
court judges—that is, state judges—in the territory covered by the 
eastern district, and that includes 8 new judges who were created 
by state constitutional amendments in 1906, I believe; so that by 
the creation of the 8 new judges the increase in the volume of busi¬ 
ness was recognized in the state courts, but during that period of 
time no such recognition has been given as to the United States 
courts, and in addition to the 17 supreme-court judges there are 
2 county judges who have jurisdiction up to $2,000 and 8 municipal- 
court judges who have jurisdiction up to $500. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. In connection with the naturalization business 
Mr. Malloy, who is here present, is the county clerk of Kings County. 
Mr. Kiendl stated that the receipts during the year in the district 
court were $8,500; Mr. Malloy's fees in the state court amount to 
over $20,000. 

Mr. Malloy. At the present rate of business we will do about 
$20,000 a year, and that has been taken in within the last year. 
The Government gets out of that some $12,000. 

STATEMENT OF HON. OTTO G. FOELKER, A REPRESENTATIVE 
FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Mr. Foelker. Mr. Chairman, permit me to go on record as being 
heartily in favor of this bill. The report of the Attorney-General 
shows that the amount of work that is being done in the eastern dis¬ 
trict justifies the reporting of this bill and demands its passage. 


14 ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 

Now, as to Judge Chatfield’s ability. Prior to his appointment he 
was assistant United States district attorney in the eastern district, 
and hence was familiar with the criminal part, at least, of that dis¬ 
trict. I, too, have observed Judge Chatfield where, as my friend has 
stated, while the lawyers were summing up in one case he would step 
into an adjoining room and impanel a jury in another. This simply 
goes to show that he is doing his utmost at great sacrifice to himself 
to relieve conditions there. He does work and works hard and is 
alwavs at work. Often after a case has been tried and submitted 
briefs are handed up, which must be carefully examined and the 
authorities considered, so that his decision shall be in accordance 
with the facts and the law. With a judge as busy as is Judge Chat- 
field, all this must be done before and after long and tedious court 
hours. This the committee well knows. 

As has been well said by Mr. Fitzgerald, the naturalization work 
in this court takes up a great deal of time. We have, too, a very 
efficient district attorney who watches each case and examines each 
applicant in the presence of the judge; all that takes time. With 
all this there are more than 13,000 cases of different kinds pending in 
the eastern district, and it is beyond human endurance to keep up 
with the growing calendars. That alone ought to justify a favorable 
report. 

Mr. Henry. Your idea is that you need another judge to be present 
all the time on account of extraordinary matters that come up ? 

Mr. Foelker. Absolutely; there is no question about that, Mr. 
Henry. If Judge Chatfield should suddenly become ill, the district 
would be without a judge, unless one should be assigned from another 
district, who must necessarily be unfamiliar with the routine and 
conditions. But you have already heard statements to the effect 
that other districts are constantly working their judges to their 
utmost, and few or none can be spared. We can therefore hardly 
expect to get relief from those districts. There is with us quite 
enough work for two efficient conscientious judges. 

Mr. Webb. Explain to me what the district judge does in a natural¬ 
ization case, Mr. Foelker. 

Mr. Foelker. He is on the bench and listens to the testimony of 
the applicant and his witnesses so as to ascertain whether he is 
qualified for the high privilege of citizenship and that no fraud is 
committed. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. Under the new naturalization law he must per¬ 
sonally conduct the proceedings. 

Mr. Henry. He must take the evidence ? 

Mr. Fitzgerald. Yes. In that court, Mr. Webb, the condition is 
such that the judge has fixed the number of cases he will hear and he 
will not hear any more cases; and he has to turn away other classes of 
work on that account. 

Mr. Kiendl. And he must sign a lot of documents in connection 
with naturalization work. 

Mr. Law. Besides that, the judge personally examines applicants 
and examines witnesses. 

Mr. Webb. Have you a record there as to how many naturaliza¬ 
tion papers he passed upon personally ? 

Mr. Calder. That is all in the record referred to the committee. 


ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 15 

Mr. Kiendl. I have the number of naturalization cases that are 
undisposed of, but I have not the total number of all the naturaliza¬ 
tion applications that were handed in, but I can supply that if you 
wish it. 

Mr. Foelker. Will you hear from Mr. Malloy for one moment? 

STATEMENT OF MR. HENRY MALLOY, COUNTY CLERK OF KINGS 
COUNTY, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 

Mr. Malloy. I did not intend to make any remarks on this bill, 
but Congressman Fitzgerald and Congressman Calder met me on the 
car last night and brought me here. A couple of the questions that 
have come up here I am rather familiar with, particularly the ques¬ 
tion of naturalization and what the judges have to do with those 
matters. Our court, of which I am the clerk, is the supreme court, 
and under your recent naturalization law you gave to that court 
jurisdiction to naturalize, and on the final application for the papers 
the matter comes before the judge and the case is put on the calendar 
at the regular term for that purpose; our experience is that we can 
only dispose of between 40 and 50 a day, and the judge very often 
takes a case into his own hands and examines the witnesses. On 
one of the recent days, out of a calendar of 50, only 23 were favorably 
acted upon, so you can see with what vigor the examination is con¬ 
ducted. I understand the same practice is in vogue by Judge 
Chatfield and other district judges. It is a matter of common 
knowledge that the business in this court is very much congested. 
Congressman Fitzgerald has told you about the increase in our state 
courts, and we now have a bill before the state legislature increasing 
our county judges from two to four. However, even with the 
increased number of these state judges, there still continues to be a 
congestion in these courts; the volume of business has increased 
very, very largely. Last year there was filed in my office over 
18,000 separate proceedings, so you can have some idea of the volume 
of business that is being conducted in this eastern district, and the 
supreme court has the main part of it. 

I think Mr. Kiendl has voiced the united sentiment of the bar of 
that district in making a demand for an additional justice, and I 
hope you will look at it in that way. 

Mr." Webb. How many people were naturalized in this court last 
year ? 

Mr. Malloy. I have not the statistics. My incumbency only 
dates from the first of the year. The return I made to the depart¬ 
ment in the quarter ending March 31 was $4,000; that represents 
fees sent to the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

Mr. Webb. How many cases would that indicate? 

Mr. Malloy. Well, I "could not tell you that, because for the first 
paper—that is, the declaration—we receive a fee of $1, and when the 
petitions are filed we receive a fee of $4, so those two fees make up 
the total amount. I have not the figures here and can not tell you 
just what they are. But we are putting on the calendar every week 
for final disposition and the granting of papers some 50 or 60 cases, 
but we are receiving more than that number. I would say that the 
reason why the state court has been crowded with this business is 
because of the congestion in the federal court. We are now doing 


16 ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 


in our state court more business than in either of the federal courts 
or any other state court within that metropolitan district, largely 
because we have assumed the jurisdiction of it and have increased 
our facilities. 

Mr. Webb. I was asking you for figures in the district court. 

Mr. Malloy. I couldn’t tell you that; I have not those figures. 

Mr. Kiendl. I will furnish them. 

Mr. Calder. I will be glad to furnish any information the com¬ 
mittee may want. 

The Chairman. I think Mr. Kiendl will send the statistics that 
Mr. Henry called for and get them in this hearing. 

Mr. Henry. I would like Mr. Fitzgerald to include in that state¬ 
ment all about the state courts, and so forth. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. If you wish it it might be of interest to include 
the volume of business; we could prepare and furnish a statement as 
to the number of judges in the various courts and* a brief statement 
of the jurisdiction. 

Mr. Henry. I wish you would do that. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. It would give some information as to the tre¬ 
mendous volume of business. For instance, I was in Brooklyn yester¬ 
day; I inquired about a case which came to issue about two years ago, 
and they said it might be reached some time in the fall. 

The Chairman. Let me give these figures to the reporter, taken 
from the report of the Attorney-General: In 1906 the cases com¬ 
menced were 399, terminated 380, tried 202; 1907, commenced 381, 
terminated 242, tried 134; 1908, commenced 667, terminated 435, 
tried 245; 1909, commenced 456, terminated 549, tried 227. This 
includes all cases except bankruptcy cases. Now, did Judge Chat- 
field preside in 1907 ? 

Mr. Fitzgerald. Judge Thomas was elected to the supreme court 
in 1906 and Judge Chatfield was appointed to succeed him; Judge 
Thomas went to the state court the first of January, 1907, and I think 
Judge Chatfield immediately qualified. 

The Chairman. Then the last year that Judge Thomas was on the 
bench he tried 202 cases; Judge Chatfield the first year he was on the 
bench tried 134, the second year 245, and the third year 227. That 
of course does not include the bankruptcy cases. 

Mr. Fitzgerald. During the first year Judge Chatfield sat for some 
time in the southern district. 

Mr. Kiendl. Yes, that is true, so that wquld account for the 
decrease that is shown there. 


rr t> tit Brooklyn, N. Y., May 8, 1910. 

Hon. R. W. Parker, y ’ 

Chairman Judiciary Committee. 

Dear Sir: In accordance with my promise made to your committee at the hearing 
on Tuesday last on bill H. R. 20148, Sixty-first Congress, second session, I herewith 
send you list of the judges of the supreme court located in the eastern district of New 
York, and also the county judges in the same district; also the magistrates and munici¬ 
pal court justices and the justices of the peace within said district, and the salaries 
paid to the judges, except justices of the peace, which is a fee office, and therefore no 
salary is faxed. 

1 also inclose an item taken out of the New York Herald and an item taken out of 
NfwV°v ly L D ^ lly Eagie, both of which papers are leading papers in the State of 
New York, showing the great steamship and docking coastwise shipping that is about 




ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 17 

to be moved to the eastern district of New York, which is included in the district in 
question. 

As is stated in the articles in the NewSYork Herald, $3,000,000 is now being expended 
under an appropriation by the city of New York, and about $17,000,000 will be needed 
for that purpose, as I stated in my argument before your committee. 

I also promised to give you the number of naturalizations now before the court 
unfinished, to wit, 639 cases, and on the average about 30 cases are disposed of each 
day, but at the present time the court has been unable to give more than one day per 
week to that work. 

There are also now pending in the bankruptcy court 875 cases, and 3,755 cases in 
which petitions have been filed. 

It will be seen by the statements I herewith give you that there are 18 judges of 
our supreme court within this district, having unlimited civil and criminal jurisdic¬ 
tion, who each receive a salary of $17,500 a year; 5 county judges, who have civil and 
criminal jurisdiction, and civil jurisdiction to the extent of $2,000 and unlimited 
jurisdiction in real property matters located within the county, and receive a salary 
of $10,500. 

There are 11 municipal court justices in the Borough of Brooklyn (Kings County), 
at a salary of $8,000; 4 in Queens, at a salary of $7,000; and 2 in Richmond, at a salary 
of $7,000. 

There are also 10 magistrates in Brooklyn, at a salary of $6,000; 4 in Queens and 2 
in Richmond, at a salary of $5,000. 

It will be seen from this list that these judges, in some cases having both criminal 
and civil jurisdiction, and in some cases criminal jurisdiction only. They are, how¬ 
ever, all discharging their duties in the eastern district of New York, in which there 
is a population, as I stated, of over 2,000,000 people, and it looks almost a farce to 
think that one federal judge should be assigned to do all this work in this great cosmo¬ 
politan and commercial district. 

In addition to the above there are ten towns in Suffolk County and three in Nassau 
County, each town having 4 justices of the peace, making a total of 44 justices having 
limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. 

There should be no delay in pressing this bill to an immediate passage in justice to 
Judge Chatfield, who, I know, is very much overworked, and in justice to the litigants 
in the eastern district. 

Yours, very truly, Adolph Kiendl. 


THE JUDICIARY OF THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Justices of the supreme court located in this district (having both civil and criminal juris¬ 
diction). —Hon. Almet F. Jenks, Hon. Edward B. Thomas, Hon. Joseph A. Burr, Hon. 
William J. Carr, Hon. Garret J. Garretson, Hon. Samuel T. Maddox, Hon. Isaac M. 
Kapper, Hon. Harrington Putnam, Hon. Josiah T. Marean, Hon. William J. Kelley, 
Hon. Walter H. Jaycox, Hon. Joseph Aspinall, Hon. Frederick E. Crane, Hon. Abel E. 
Blackmar, Hon. Luke D. Stapleton, Hon. Townsend Scudder, Hon. Lester W. Clark, 
Hon. Arthur E. Sutherland (sitting temporarily). Salary, $17,500. 

County judges (having both civil and criminal jurisdiction). —Hon. Norman S. Dike, 
Hon. Lewis L. Fawcett, Kings, $10,500; Hon. Bert J. Humphrey, Queens, $6,500; 
Hon. S. D. Stephens, Richmond; Hon. Edgar Jackson, Nassau; Hon. T. M. Grifiing, 
Suffolk—$5,000. (Last three also act as surrogates for their respective counties.) 

Surrogates. —Hon. Herbert T. Ketcham, Kings, $10,000; Hon. Daniel Noble, 
Queens, $5,000. 

Justices of the municipal court of the city of New York (haying civil jurisdiction 
only). —Hon. Eugene Conran, Hon. George Freifield, Hon. Philip D. Meagher, Hon. 
William J. Bogenshutz, Hon. John R. Farrar, Hon. Jacob S. Strahl, Hon. Cornelius 
Furgueson, Hon. Lucien S. Bayliss, Hon. George Fielder, Hon. Alexander S. Rosen¬ 
thal, Hon. Edward A. Richards, Borough of Brooklyn, $8,000; Hon. Thomas C. 
Kadien, Hon. John M. Cragen, Hon. Alfred Denton, Hon. James F. McLaughlin, 
Borough of Queens; Hon. Thomas C. Brown, Hon. Arnold J. B. Wedemeyer, Borough 
of Richmond, $7,000. 

Justices of special sessions (having special criminal jurisdiction) . —Hon. H. J. Forker, 
Hon. J. J. Mclnerney, Hon. John Fleming, Hon. Robert J. Wilkin, Hon. G. J. O’Keefe, 
Hon. M. M. L. Ryan, $6,000. (One of these justices also acts as justice of the childrens’ 

court.) ... 

City magistrates (having criminal jurisdiction only). —Hon. A. V. B. Voorhees, jr., 
Hon. E. J. Dooley, Hon. J. G. Tighe, Hon. John Naumer, Hon. E. G. Higgenbotham, 

43505—10-2 



18 ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 


Hon. F. E. O’Reilly, Hon. Moses Harris, Hon. H. P. Nash, Hon. John F. Hylan, 
Hon. A. H. Geismar, Borough of Brooklyn, $6,000; Hon. M. J. Smith, Hon. Joseph 
Fitch,-Hon. Maurice Connelly, Hon. E. C. Gilroy, Borough of Queens, $5,000; Hon. 
J. B. Handy, Hon. Nat. Marsh, Borough of Richmond, $5,000. 

Justices of the 'peace (having both civil and criminal jurisdiction ).—There are 10 towns 
in Suffolk County and 3 towns in Nassau County, each town having 4 justices of the 
peace, making 52 in all. 

RECAPITULATION. 


Eighteen justices of the supreme court within the eastern district of the 

State of New York, each $17,500.... 

Five county judges, total salaries. 

Two surrogates, total salaries..... 

Seventeen municipal court justices, total salaries. 

Six justices of special sessions, total salaries. 

Sixteen city magistrates, total salaries. 


$315, 000 
42, 500 
15, 000 
130,000 
36, 000 
90,000 


Grand total of annual salaries. 628, 500 

This is exclusive of the salaries and fees of the 42 justices of the peace of the 
counties of Suffolk and Richmond. 


Brooklyn, N. Y., April 13, 1910. 


Hon. R. W. Parker, 

Chairman Judiciary Committee, House of Representatives, 

Washington, D. C. 

•Dear Sir: Herewith you will find inclosed communication from the secretary of the 
Brooklyn Bar Association, relative to the measure providing for an additional judge 
of the district court for the eastern district of New York. 

The proposed bill meets with the hearty approval of our entire bar. 

Very respectfully, 

David F. Manning, 
President Brooklyn Bar Association.. 


Brooklyn Bar Association, 
Brooklyn, N. Y., April 13, 1910. 

Hon. David F. Manning, 

350 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Dear Manning: At a stated meeting of the Brooklyn Bar Association held at the 
Brooklyn Club (governor’s room), corner Clinton and Pierrepont street, Brooklyn, 
N. Y., on Friday, April 8, 1910, the House of Representatives bill No. 20148, adding 
a new judge to the district court of the United States for the eastern district of New 
York, was duly approved by said association and I was directed to inform the proper 
authority of such approval. 

Yours, very truly, 

E. L. Collier, Secretary. 


[The Standard Union, Thursday evening, April 21,1910.] 

NEED OF AN ENLARGED COURT. 

Congressman Calder’s bill for an additional judge of the district court for this dis¬ 
trict should pass. The interests of this great business and commercial community 
rightfully require that adequate facilities be provided for determining speedily the 
causes of which this court has jurisdiction. 

The bar and the bench have agreed that proper provision for justice to litigants 
requires the appointment of an additional judge, who shall reside in the district and 
who shall possess the same powers, perform the same duties, and receive the same com¬ 
pensation as the present district judge of this eastern district. Mr. Calder’s bill to 
that effect has been indorsed by the Brooklyn Bar Association; by Judge Lacombe, of 
the circuit court; and by Judge Chatfield, of the district court. 













ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. 19 


This is not a newly discovered need, but one that has been discussed and generally 
acknowledged for a long time. As Mr. Taft has said, “The courts exist for the benefit 
ot the people. The demands of the people upon the court have increased, while the 
provision made by the Government has not been extended. While in the Manhattan 
district there are now four district judges, in this district, which includes all of Long 
island and Staten Island, one judge has to take care of the swarm of naturalization 
cases which come up every week, of all the admiralty cases, of all the bankruptcy 
matters, which involve delicate points of law, and which peculiarily require speedy 
decis io n if justice is to be done, as well as of the ordinary civil and criminal calendars. 
At the hearing to be given by the Committee on the Judiciary on Mr. Calder’s bill 
^, ues 9 a y> the facts will be presented; when the committee is made acquainted 
with the circumstances it will, one may say with the greatest confidence, decide to 
expedite Mr. Calder’s meritorious measure. 


[Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Thursday evening, April 21,1910.] 

FOR AN ADDITIONAL FEDERAL JUDGE. 

Representative William M. Calder has introduced in the lower House at Washington 
a bill which is now in the hands of the Judiciary Committee, authorizing the President 
to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an additional United 
States district judge for the eastern district of the State of New York, to have the same 
duties, powers, and compensation as Judge Thomas I. Chatfield. The bill is approved 
by the Brooklyn Bar Association, by Judge Chatfield, who will be relieved thereby, 
and Judge Lacombe of the federal circuit court. 

By section 541 of the United States Revised Statutes, the eastern district of New 
York consists of Richmond, Kings, Queens, and Suffolk counties. As Nassau was for¬ 
merly a part of Queens, that is included also. Over all the waters of the counties 
named and those of New York County, the judges of the southern district and the judge 
of the eastern district have concurrent jurisdiction. The southern district is not 
separated from the northern district by a naming of counties, except that Albany, 
Schoharie, and Delaware, and counties north and west of them are in the latter. It 
follows, of course, that the southern district has much more work than either of the 
others, but it has not four times as much work as the eastern district; and it has four 
judges to do what has to be done. 

We trust the Brooklyn lawyers will be well represented at the hearing on this bill 
in Washington next Tuesday. Every such lawyer who practices at all in the federal 
courts is interested in the move to relieve the existing congestion of business. It ought 
to be relieved. Mr. Calder’s bill asks for this part of the State nothing that is excessive 
or unreasonable. 


[Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 27,1910.] 

MORE STEAMSHIP LINES COMING TO BROOKLYN—COMMISSIONER TOMKINS TO CLEAR 
MANHATTAN DOCKS OF COASTWISE SHIPPING—RAILROADS MAY CHANGE, TOO—A 
PLAN BY WHICH THE MANHATTAN WATER FRONT WILL BE RESERVED FOR OCEAN 
STEAMSHIPS. 

Dock Commissioner Tomkins’s policy is to make the South Brooklyn water front 
the center of all the coastwise shipping, according to a statement which he made 
to-day before the sinking-fund commission. It can not be done immediately, but 
it is the intention of the commissioner, as the leases of the steamship companies expire 
on the Manhattan piers, to have them come to the Brooklyn side of the harbor for 
their dockage facilities. These, of course, are the companies engaged in the coast¬ 
wise trade. The piers on the North River in Manhattan, the commissioner believes, 
should be reserved for ocean-going vessels entirely. 

In anticipation of this policy the commissioner ventured the suggestion that it was 
only a question of time when the New England and the southern steamship com¬ 
panies, and possibly some of the railroad lines, will eventually move to Brooklyn. 

The sinking-fund commission was considering the dispute between the Brunswick 
Steamship Company and the city over a sublease which the former wishes to let. 
This company, now in the hands of a receiver, is engaged in the coast trade between 
New York and southern ports. They hold twenty-year leases on two piers on the 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


20 


ADDITIONAL JUDGE EASTERN DISTRICT C 



North River which they wish to sublet to the New Engl; 
which runs the Boston boats. 0 012 416 374 7 "O 

The dock commissioner has refused to allow the lease to uc - 0 _ 

that it will violate his new policy of keeping the North River for ocean vessels, sending 
coast traders to Brooklyn or the East River. He said to Mayor Gaynor and the sinking 
fund commissioners in defense of his policy: 

“ These southern boats might just as well go over to the South Brooklyn water front. 
Their cargoes only have to be shipped over to Brooklyn anyhow, in lighters, and 
never touch Manhattan. The time is soon coming when all the southern and New 
England steamers must go to Brooklyn. In fact, it will be a great deal more advan¬ 
tageous for them to do so. They can have better facilities and cheaper rent. I hope 
and think that some of them will anticipate this moving and go to Brooklyn before 
they are forced to.” 

The mayor agreed that Mr. Tomkins’s policy was a good one, but said that it 
could not be settled offhand whether or not the Brunswick Company should forfeit 
their right to sublet, if they had such a right. The mayor decided that the matter 
had better lay over for at least another week. 

During the controversy Commissioner Tomkins received some pretty hard knocks 
from Stephen C. Baldwin, counsel for the Brunswick Company. Mr. Baldwin declared 
that the dock commissioner was evidently working hand and glove with the New 
England Navigation Company and the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company in what 
amounted to a virtual conspiracy against the Brunswick Company. He said that 
while Mr. Tomkins’s policy might be a good one, it was not fair to crush one indi¬ 
vidual concern in carrying it out. 

The sinking fund commission decided to hold a public hearing on May 18 at 11 
o’clock, at city hall, on the proposed Jamaica Bay improvements as recommended 
by Commissioner Tomkins in his report made to the commission last week. 


[New York Herald, May 2, 1910.] 

TAXPAYER COMPLAINS OF NEW DOCK ORDERS—ASSERTS THAT FORCING NEW ENGLAND 
COMPANY’S BOATS TO SOUTH BROOKLYN IS UNFAIR. 

To the Editor of the Herald: 

There appears to be a preconcerted plan on the part of the municipal authorities 
to do anything and everything to benefit Brooklyn at the expense of Manhattan. 
The programme for subways is all in favor of Brooklyn. Then, for the Jamaica Bay 
proposition the board of estimate appropriated $3,000,000 without even a protest. 
Now Brooklyn wants the barge canal boats, and, of course, will get them, and now 
comes the case of the New England Navigation Company, which the dock commis¬ 
sioner is trying to force over to South Brooklyn, and gives notice that all coastwise 
steamers will have to dock there. The business of this company is largely made up 
of freight to the dry goods commission houses from the factories of Fall River, New 
Bedford, Norwich, and Providence; also direct shipments to and from Boston. The 
proposition, therefore, is nothing less than a vital blow against one of the most impor¬ 
tant branches of business in Manhattan. * * * 





















